In the comparative approach used here,
social networks are quantified by a set of
observables such as node-degree distribution,
clustering coefficients, assortativity,
and other standard measures.
Each of these is not unique to social network, but can be used to characteristic and compare them [1]}.
By using these measures, it is by now well established that social networks,
in the main, have a number of common characteristics: they are mostly small-world
[2]}, [3]}, [4]}, [5]};
have heavy-tailed (right skewed) nodal degree
distributions
[2]}, [7]}, [8]};
and their clustering coefficients are higher than would
be expected for other (such as randomly constructed) network types [1]}.
The social-balance hypothesis often holds for such networks too
(“the enemy of my enemy is my friend”) [10]}, [11]}, [12]};
they have hierarchical structures [13]};
and are assortatively mixed by node degree [1]}, [15]}.
The program set up in [16]}, [17]}, [18]}, [19]}, [20]}
quantifies the extent to which networks of characters of mythological
narratives that belong to different cultures exhibit these and other unifying and distinguishing features.
Here we analyze bylyny - the heroic epic of Eastern Slavs.
Continuing our studies initiated in Refs. [21]}, [22]}, our
goal is to find universal quantitative characteristics
and to place bylyny in a larger context
of mythological narratives of other cultures.
We also wish to identify the most important characters and
their placement in the narrative,
both amongst their immediate community and the broader society
— “the secrets to their success”, so to speak.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows.
In Section , we briefly discuss bylyny,
their content, as well as the period and place of their origins.
We present the complex network of bylyny society in Section  and rank most prominent characters.
We discuss network properties in Section , where we compare
bylyny with network properties of other mythological narratives.
We end with a conclusion and outlook in Section .
